By Raphaël MORENON
20 March 2025
A vehicle often represents an accessible asset for a creditor seeking to recover a debt. The seizure and sale procedure has its own special features when it comes to land-based motor vehicles. There are a number of rules governing this procedure, ranging from relative unseizability to specific practical arrangements. The seizability of the vehicle The seizability of a motor vehicle raises complex legal issues, particularly when the vehicle is a working tool for the debtor. The vehicle as a work tool The Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures states that assets necessary for the life and work of the debtor and his family cannot be seized. Article L. 112-2, 5° specifically protects work tools necessary for the personal exercise of a professional activity. A vehicle can therefore escape seizure if it can be shown that it is an indispensable work tool used exclusively for professional purposes. The professional nature of the vehicle must be intrinsic and limited to the exclusive activity of the...
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